Kelsey Towns hasn’t missed a Boulevard Bolt since kindergarten. Last year, as she was fighting cancer, Cortland Finnegan pushed her the entire 5 miles. / Submitted

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Some NFL fans see Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan as a kind of madman, a player with a short fuse and a bad temper.

Kelsey Towns sees him as someone willing to do anything to make her smile, even if it means putting on a full-body turkey costume, or pushing her five miles in an oversized stroller to keep a childhood tradition alive.

That’s exactly what Finnegan did on Thanksgiving last year, when Towns was battling cancer. Today, they will again participate in the annual Boulevard Bolt, only this time running side by side. Towns even volunteered to push Finnegan’s 7-month-old daughter, named in her honor, to return the favor.

She hasn’t committed to wearing the turkey outfit Finnegan surprised her with last year at the hospital, however.

“Words can’t describe what kind of an impact he’s made on my life,” said Towns, 18. “Looking back, I think I would have been a lot sicker and had a harder time. But he was always there encouraging me. He still is. We’ll definitely be friends forever.”

The feeling is mutual for Finnegan, who met Towns last year during a visit to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and has remained in close touch with her ever since. Their friendship reveals a different side to the sixth-year pro, whose on-field reputation at times has been that of a “dirty” player.

Finnegan has seemingly mellowed in the past year, however. The change, he said, followed the birth of his daughter, Lyla Kelsey, and his desire to set a good example for Towns, now a Western Kentucky University freshman and cancer-free for 10 months after a courageous fight.

“She is my little sister, so you don’t want to do anything to disappoint her,” said Finnegan, whose wife, Lacey, also planned to join the Towns family this morning for the five-mile Boulevard Bolt. “I actually consider Kelsey a part of my family. We’ve gotten to the point where I tell her I love her and vice versa. She’s someone I always have in the back of my mind because of her great attitude in life.”

Instant connection

Towns was a senior at Father Ryan High School when she first noticed a lump on her right thigh. After a series of tests she was diagnosed with Synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer.

High school, as Towns had known it, was about to change dramatically. She went through seven rounds of chemotherapy, five weeks of radiation and two surgeries. She lost her hair, and her dream — a chance to play volleyball in her final year at the school.

Then she found a new friend in Finnegan, who was with teammate Ryan Mouton on a Tuesday morning last September when they ran into Towns and her mother, Lea Ann, in the hospital.

“And they just hit it off,” Lea Ann said.

Finnegan returned to see Towns in her room later in the day, then swung by again before leaving. Not long after he gave her a care package that included an autographed jersey and tickets to every home game in 2010.

Lea Ann Towns said Finnegan was at the hospital for every one of her daughter’s chemotherapy treatments last fall, and in turn Kelsey willed herself into feeling better in time to go to every game.

Finnegan also was at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 25, 2010, when Towns had her second surgery, and was waiting for her when she was wheeled out.

“Kelsey was blown away,” Lea Ann said. “It took her mind off being scared about the surgery. Instead she was thinking, ‘I can’t believe he came.’ ”

Finnegan said he felt an instant connection with Towns.

That’s what persuaded him to swallow his pride and put on the turkey suit, his way of telling her he was going to push her in the Boulevard Bolt, which she’d taken part in since she was in kindergarten.

Finnegan sprinted five miles while pushing Towns, then showed up for practice that afternoon.

“There’s something special about her, and she touched my heart,” Finnegan said. “I was actually having a bad day when I saw her the first time and she was there for me. She was uplifting, encouraging me, trying to brighten my day. And it kind of went from there.”

The ties that bind

This season Finnegan has steered clear of the controversies that followed him last fall, when he was involved in skirmishes and the NFL fined him several times.

An incident just after Thanksgiving last year — on Nov. 28 in Houston — was a catalyst for change. He was kicked out of the game for fighting with Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Kelsey Towns was watching the game at home in Nashville. She was shocked and concerned. About 10 minutes later, from the locker room in Houston, Finnegan texted her an apology.

“I think he was just trying to let me know that’s not the way he is off the field,” Towns said. “I knew he wasn’t because we’re always sarcastic and cutting up. He’s a different person on the field and off it. But he wasn’t proud about what happened.”

Towns and Finnegan talk several times a week.

He attended Father Ryan’s homecoming last fall, when she was named homecoming queen. He participated in a Kelsey Towns Night at St. Henry School, and was on hand when she was presented with The Kaia Jergenson Courage Award from the Nashville Sports Council in March.

He regularly has dinner with the Towns family and has taken an interest in Kelsey’s younger brothers, Andrew and Cameron.

Lee Ann Towns said she’s been “blown away” by what Finnegan has done for Kelsey, who continues to undergo cancer scans and will continue to do so for the next 10 years, with her family praying each time the cancer won’t come back.

Kelsey, a manager for the volleyball team at WKU, is still trying to get the strength back in her leg after surgeries damaged the muscles.

The hope is all her bad days are behind her. Robert Towns, Kelsey’s dad, said he couldn’t thank Finnegan enough for making all those days better.

“Anything he ever asked of me I’d have to come to help him, but there’s no way I could repay him for what he has done for Kelsey,” Robert said. “But to be honest, in a lot of ways, I really think they help each other.

“Those two, they are kind of like two peas in a pod. They are both passionate and both fearless in life, and they just kind of bonded. You don’t see those kinds of relationships in life a lot, and it’s been fun to watch. It’s been a real blessing.”